The Life of a King
by MissJenn
Summary: Merlin has gone through it all and has handled it beautifully. But what will he do when he switches bodies with . . . King Uther? Gasp! No plans for pairing, just for fun.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: So, how I came up with this story is actually funny story in it's own. I was thinking about doing some sort of body-switch thing with Merlin and Arthur for a while now, but then I saw Morgana21's Body Swap (which is really good. Go read it!..after my story, of course :D) and shrugged it off. Then sarahelizabeth1993 (go read her stories too! :D) said that I should have Merlin switch bodies with Uther, so here it is! Anyway, I plan on making this a multi-chapter thing but it won't be my top priority unless I get a good amount of reviews. So, please, give me your input on if I should continue working on it or not! Merci! ~Ninja_

_For now it's Uther's point of view, but will switch back and forth between him and Merlin in the chapters to come._

* * *

Uther had been ruling the kingdom for many years. How many? He lost count way before his son was ever thought of. During those years, Uther had grown, matured, developed. His kingdom grew along with him, and it had been quite the journey. There were ups and downs, of course. The birth of his son was one the highest points in his life. The lowest: the death of his beloved wife. It was tragic beyond reason, but, Uther was a strong man. He held his head high and marched on through. Uther's focus was on his people and the wellbeing of his kingdom. Some say he is a great man, where others say he is an idiot tyrant. Despite all those who think ill of him, Uther is a strong man to be reckoned with.

Then, how did he end up in this state? Here he was, in a foreign room, distorted and carrying the worst headache he has ever felt. Uther was confused, dazed, and unaware of his surroundings. For the first time in a very, very long time, Uther was at a loss of what to do.

But, for us to be able to understand Uther's dilemma, we need to go back in time a bit.

Three days prior.

The past week had gone well for Uther. There had not been much going on with the kingdom as normal. Of course, there is always something to be done, but there was nothing major that needed all of the King's attention. He was able to work on the personal problems the people had within the kingdom, oversee the creation of his army, and even had time to fit in a walk with his son to catch up on things. The light load had put Uther in a good mood, which put everyone else in a good mood as well. People were more productive and less intimidated, and in an end result, made Uther even happier. He was glad that the past week had been going so well, since he had time to spend with his son off-duty and not have to worry about any impending doom.

Yes, all was going well and Uther was in a good mood. Sadly, he was unaware that his good mood was soon going to change.

Two days prior.

Uther's good mood continued. He woke up that day feeling refreshed and decided to take an early-morning stroll by himself. He walked the almost empty halls of the castle for quite a while, until he reached one of the uppermost towers. The view there was spectacular. If he hadn't duties to perform, Uther would have spent all day staring at the kingdom below. His kingdom.

Without warning, a young messenger came up to Uther and bowed, "My lord, an envoy from a neighboring kingdom has arrived. He has a gift for you."

Slightly intrigued, Uther nodded and proceeded to follow the young messenger back to the royal hall.

After he placed himself inside his throne, Uther waved to the guards to let the messenger in. The wooden doors swung open and in walked a man no older than Arthur with long black hair and deep green eyes. He bowed low to the King,

"Sire, I have a peace offering from my king."

"A peace offering?" Uther asked, quite surprised at the sudden announcement of peace.

"Yes. He sends you a gift in hopes that you would consider becoming an ally." The man grinned, holding out a small, wooden statue of a tall ancient knight; his hands out in front of him resting on his sword.

Uther examined the statue for a moment before rising from his chair and stepping down to the messenger, gently grabbing the statue out of his hands. "Marvelous," he whispered, holding the perfectly carved statue up to eye level. The eyes inside the helmet of the statue suddenly grew a dim red, and for a split moment Uther's eyes reciprocated the action and also turned red. Both of their eyes transformed to normal after a moment. Completely forgetting what had just happened, Uther looked down at the now wildly grinning messenger.

"Tell your king I shall send him a message in three days hence with my answer. Also send him my thanks for his gift," the king said, his eyes landing back on the wooden statue in his hands. The messenger silently chuckled to himself and bowed, then hastily left the room.

One day prior.

The good mood Uther had carried the two days before had rapidly disappeared. Ever since he received the wooden statue, he became crankier and crankier until he was at his worst. Yelling at servants for no reason, storming through the castle grumbling, and even knocking over things in fits of rage; he did them all, and frequently. At one point he managed to knock over Arthur's manservant while passing him in the hall, causing Merlin to drop the large pile of clothing in his hand. Uther even yelled at his son on numerous occasions. Arthur, however, was the only one to not cringe in fear and scurry out the room. Once he even tried to ask his father what was troubling him so, but the king yelled at him and sent him away. Even Uther himself was unsure as to why he was in such a horrid condition. By the day's end, the feeling inside the castle was one akin to a cemetery. No one was happy.

Uther went to bed that night, completely unaware of what the next day had in store.

Current day.

Uther had tossed and turned the previous night. He barely slept a wink due to his horrific headache which was pounding at his head non-stop. It continued to get progressively worse to the point where Uther was about go and wake up Gaius and demand he be given something for the pain. But, as he was readying himself to get up, the pain got so bad that he blacked out and remembered no more.

"Are you _still _sleeping?" Uther heard a familiar voice speak, causing him to open up one blurry eye. "Arthur won't be happy with you being late again."

_Arthur won't be. . . ? _Uther thought to himself as he closed his eye and grumbled. "What are you talking about, Gaius?" He managed to say with a coarse, groggy voice.

"You know how Arthur is when you're late." Gaius said, the sound of his footsteps drawing near. He grabbed the covers and flung them off, "It's time you got off that lazy behind of yours and actually show up on time for once."

This confused Uther greatly. Not only was he confused, but he was not happy with Gaius ripping away his clothes and talking to him as if he were a child. "Gaius, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing inside my chambers, and what nonsense do you speak of?" Uther sternly asked, pushing himself up to a ninety-degree angle so he could look Gaius straight in the eyes. He suddenly noticed that his voice was not as stern and commanding as it once was; it was a bit of a higher pitch and he sounded . . . sounded . . . younger.

"You'll thank me for this later." With those last words, Gaius made his way across the room and disappeared behind the wooden door.

It was not until a few moments after Gaius had left that Uther became even more confused. Looking around at his room, he saw that it looked completely different. In fact, this wasn't even his room. It was three times as small and had clutter everywhere. With a puzzled look on his face, Uther brought up his hand and ran it through his hair – but it wasn't his hand. Bringing up both of his hands in front of him, Uther saw that they were smoother and younger looking than his own normal hands. Flustered, the king grabbed his hair once more and felt that it was completely different than his usual gray hair. He even caught a glimpse of the hair and saw that it was not an old gray, but a nice, healthy black color. Now, Uther was frantic. He scrambled out of his bed (with surprising new agility) and lunged forward to the dresser and began to search for anything he could see himself with. After much searching he found a rather small mirror wedged between a few books. Pulling it out, Uther brought it up to eye level. What looked back at him frightened the man immensely. The face of Uther, King of Camelot, wasn't looking back at him. It was Merlin.

_He_ was Merlin.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:_ Holy reviews, Batman! -- I mean, wow, I loved all the reviews you guys gave me! They made me so psyched about the story that I have a new chapter for you guys! Although I apologize if it may seem like not much is going on, but in the next chapters I'm planning on having a little more fun. Muahahaha... Ahem, anywho, here's Merlin's point of view! Enjoy, mon amis! ~Ninja_

* * *

Merlin has a secret, of which only a few people know of; one of them being his mentor. He has kept his secret from everyone else, and for a good reason. Merlin can use magic. He has had this ability since he could remember, and it has served him well. In the past he has used it for many a things: cleaning, work, and even for saving the life of the future king. Sometimes, his magic caused some of the major dilemmas the royal family had to face -- but not this time. This time, Merlin was not at fault as to what happened to him. He was unaware of whom or what was causing his current situation.

The previous day had not gone so well for the young warlock. Everyone was in low spirits because of the sudden rage the king was in. Many of the servants took to hiding in their chambers, and some of the guards began to tremble when they saw him approaching. Even Arthur turned down a different corridor when his father came into view. Arthur had been fed up with his father constantly battering him, yet no matter how hard he tried to evade him, his father always found him. King Uther had been so cruel the previous day that he did not care to pay attention to where he was going. Uther plowed right into Merlin and, without even a backwards glance, continued on at a fast pace.

From then on, Merlin had also been in low spirits. Not only was King Uther's rage keeping him down, but he carried a growing headache which only got worse over time. When the young boy headed back to his chambers after his daily duties, he said not a word to Gaius as he disappeared into his room to sleep. That night was perhaps the worst night he had. He tossed, he turned, and even took to changing his position on his bed in hopes of falling asleep. Sadly, the headache just continued to get worse until the pain was so unbearable that he was about to scream, but, before he could let out even the smallest of yelps, Merlin had passed out.

Back to the current day. Merlin was sound asleep as the morning rays peeked through the curtains. He would have slept in for several more hours if it were not for the young servant who poked her head from behind the door and called, "S-sire, time to w-wake up." The young woman cautiously entered the room with a tray of food in her hands. When she saw that he did not respond to her first attempt, she took a big gulp and tried again. "F-forgive me s-sire, but y-you asked me to wake you up."

Finally, her words penetrated Merlin's dreams and he began to return to reality. Mumbling something incoherently, he rolled over onto his back and sunk lower into the soft, comfortable bed. "Not now, Gaius," he grumbled, hoping to catch just a few more minutes of sleep.

"Gaius? You w-want for Gaius? I shall go get him!" The servant stammered, obviously misunderstanding what Merlin had said. She dropped the tray onto the table and bolted out of the room.

"What?" mumbled the still-half-asleep Merlin. When the door had closed with a loud slam, he pushed himself into a sitting position. Quickly sleeping the room with his eyes, Merlin saw that the young girl had disappeared, no doubt in search for Gaius. Shrugging it off, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and attempted to stand up – but to no avail. The moment he tried to stand up a wave of aches, cracks, and pains erupted from inside him. He felt as if his body had aged quite some years. He tried again and, thankfully, was able to stand up straight. Rubbing his back, Merlin traversed over to the large table where his tray of food currently sat, and from there he began to consume the wonderful breakfast the servant had given him. It was perhaps the best breakfast he ever had.

But . . . something was off. Something felt weird. He glanced around the room to see if anything was different, but he found nothing. The room looked exactly like King Uther's room should. . . . Wait, King Uther's room? Merlin looked at the chambers once more and, indeed, found that he had awoken in Uther's quarters. But why? Why did he wake up there? Had he been sleep walking? Well, whatever the cause was, Merlin knew he was going to be in trouble if he did not leave immediately. Merlin quickly made the bed and set the breakfast up as if it had not been touched. He did a poor job, yet all he cared for was keeping his head attached to the rest of his body.

After making sure everything was normal, Merlin made his way out the large wooden doors. With any luck he could leave the room and be on the other side of the castle before anyone could be the wiser. He simply needed to sneak out of the room and –

"Good morning, my lord."

Merlin jumped clear out of his skin. Two guards had been posted right outside of Uther's chambers and one of them had taken the liberty of greeting him. The warlock was just about ready to give off a list of reasons why he was in there and why he should not be sent to his death when something clicked inside his head.

"What did you call me?"

"My lord. Do you not wish to be called that anymore?" The guard asked, attempting to not keep continuous eye contact with Merlin.

"No – I mean – yes, but –" stammered Merlin. He would have finished his sentence, but something clicked inside his head once more. Without a word he turned back into Uther's chambers and immediately began his search for a mirror. Luckily, Uther had quite a large one hanging on the wall. Merlin was hesitant to step in front of it, except he knew it must be done. Taking a deep breath, he placed himself in front of the large mirror. And, just as he expected, the tall, aged figure of King Uther stared right back at him.

Oh, he was in big trouble now.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N:_ _First off, I would like to apologize for the long wait on this next update. I got sidetracked during Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, I hope you all had a wonderful Thankfulday and are ready to get back to reading! :D -nudenudehinthint- :D Anyway, I'd also like to say, keep reviewing! I simply love and appreciate all of your reviews, and they get me pumped and ready to write the next chapter. I don't have any set plan for this story (it was a random idea to start with in the first place) so any comments, suggestions, concerns, questions, anything you have to say, go ahead! There's a good chance I'll put your suggestions into consideration._

_Alright, I've blabbed enough. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy mon amis!_

* * *

A wince swept across Uther's face as he stared at his now raw red cheeks. In order to make sure that he was not dreaming, and that he actually _was _inside a peasant's body, he had pinched his (or, rather, Merlin's) cheeks, rubbed his face, and even checked his hind quarters. After a moment of investigation, Uther came to the frightful conclusion that, indeed, he had ended up inside Arthur's manservant's body. And now to ask the question of the year: Why, and how, did he end up in such a state? The best answer Uther could come up with himself almost frightened him: magic. It must have been magic that caused this dilemma. How it has exactly happened, and why such a thing has occurred, Uther did not know.

Deciding that he had enough cheek-pinching for one day, Uther marched out of the bedroom and into the main area of the chambers. There, sitting down at the table, hunched over a bowl of food, was Gaius.

"Gaius!" Uther said with hope rising from inside him; if anyone could help him out, it was his wise and most-trusted court physician.

"Finally deciding to get up, I see," The old man commented with amusement. "Hurry, eat your breakfast; Arthur shall be expecting you." He motioned to the brown bowl next to him.

Uther looked down at the round container and scrunched his nose in disgust. He wasn't even sure if he could classify the contents within the bowl as actual food. "Gaius," he said, casting his eyes away from the vulgar food, "listen – "

"Eat, eat! The earlier you get to Arthur the earlier you can come back. I have some chores for you to do later." Gaius interrupted, completely disregarding the protests of Uther.

"No, Gaius, I – "

"Are you alright? Your cheeks . . . they're red." Said Gaius, finally getting a good look at Merlin – er, Uther.

"Listen!" commanded Uther, getting frustrated at the lack of respect the man was showing him. The sudden outbreak had surprised Gaius. He raised an eyebrow.

"I am listening."

Uther took a deep breath. This time, he was going to tell him. "I'm not Merlin, I'm – "

A loud knock came from the door, causing Uther to be interrupted once again. His brows furrowed and his face began to distort out of pure frustration. Once Gaius had said "enter," a young, tentative woman slipped in.

"K-King Uther wishes to see you. At once." she said while keeping her eyes locked onto the floor. She did not notice the manservant staring at her with a bewildered look.

Gaius raised an eyebrow, unaware that the _real_ Uther was standing right behind him. "Does he now?" Waiting not a moment, he stood up and nodded to the girl. "Thank you, miss." He began to gather his things.

Uther had been watching, confused at the message. If he was stuck in Merlin's body, and since he most certainly had not ordered for Gaius, then that must have meant his body was being used by someone else.

"Gaius, wait! That is _not_ me, that's – "

Uther had almost gotten Gaius' attention, but yet again, his speech was cut off by someone. This time, it was by his own flesh and blood. Arthur poked his head into the room, his eyes immediately locking on who he thought to be Merlin. "Merlin, there you are." He entered the room, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Gaius as the old man took his leave. "Instead of waiting hours for you, I have decided to simply get you myself. Come, we have a busy day ahead." Arthur beckoned for Uther to follow, and without even waiting for a response, left.

Uther was quite frustrated now. All his attempts to communicate with Gaius had been interrupted so disrespectfully, as if he was some sort of servant! . . . Oh, right. He _was_ a servant. But, still, how was he going to fix this if no one would listen to him? If not Gaius, then perhaps his son would. He could tell how much he trusted his manservant, so maybe he had a better chance with him. Taking a deep breath, Uther took a few large steps in order to catch up to the prince.

———

Merlin stared at the mirror with a perplexed face. Who, what, where, when, why, and how did he end up in the King's body? The King's body! Out of all the people he could have ended up in – A knight, a peasant, or even someone as crazy as The Great Dragon – he had to end up in the old, fearsome King Uther's body. To add insult to injury, Uther was the man who completely despised magic. If he ever found out about Merlin's secret, then surely he would burn the warlock the next morning. A shiver ran down his spine just at the thought of it.

Stepping closer to the large mirror, Merlin got a better look at his new face. He ran a few fingers along his head, able to feel every wrinkle and imperfection. Again, out of everyone he ended up in, he ended up in an old man's body. He could already feel the physical difference. When he got up, it took him a few moments to get moving. Did Uther have to go through that every morning? If he did, well then, Merlin hoped that he would not have to spend many mornings in Uther's body.

"Good morning, Sire," came a familiar voice, causing Merlin to break away from his thoughts and look at who had entered. "You wished to see me?"

The young man within the King's body looked at Gaius with a slightly puzzled expression. For a moment, he wondered why Gaius had called him sire, but when he glanced at the mirror next to him, he remembered that he was in a royal body. After looking back at Gaius, Merlin smiled, both physically and mentally. "Gaius!" He exclaimed, hurrying over to the physician and closing the door. "You don't know how great it is to see you. I have a problem . . . . I'm not Uther."

Gaius gave him a skeptical look. "Pardon me, my lord, but I do not follow."

"I'm Merlin!" The warlock in disguised whispered, trying his best to sound convincing. Gaius began to look concerned.

"If that is what you wish me to call you from now on, sire . . ."

"No, no! Gaius, it's me! _Merlin!_" Seeing the baffled look on his mentor's face, he continued, "I have . . . a secret. You are the only one who knows about it," Merlin leaned closer, his voice dropping down to an even lower whisper, "I can use magic."

Merlin and Gaius stared at each other for quite a while. Merlin patiently waited as Gaius scrutinized the face of the king. His worried face abruptly turned to surprise when he finally came to a conclusion. "Merlin!"

Uther -who-was-actually-Merlin gave Gaius a look. "No, actually I'm Arthur. Like my disguise?"

"Merlin, it _is_ you!" the man exclaimed, also dropping his voice to a low whisper. "What in Camelot's name are you doing in Uther's body?"

"Well, I was getting rather tired of my own body so I decided to – how am I supposed to know!?" Merlin shouted, throwing his arms up into the air in irritation. "I don't even know how I got in here. Last night I went to bed, looking as per normal, and then I woke up as an old man!"

"This is not good, Merlin." He said, costing him a "you think?" look from the face of the King. "If you are in Uther's body, then . . ."

"Uther's in my body." Merlin finished, coming to the same conclusion as Gaius.

The two exchanged troubled looks. Neither of them had to verbally express their concern. Then, as if they had somehow communicated without words, they simultaneously hurried out the door, so as to begin their search for a king in a manservant's body.

———

"Now, Merlin, there is much to do today, so I don't have time for your complaining." Arthur said, walking down the hall at a hurried pace. Before Merlin – or, to be more precise, Uther – could get a word in, Arthur interrupted him . . . again. "First off, we need to split up and search for the missing servants. Half of them have disappeared since my father's rampage yesterday."

Hearing his name, Uther paused for a moment. "They disappeared?"

"Yes, they've gone into hiding," Arthur began, turning over his shoulder to look at the servant, "and if you don't get your lazy butt moving they shall stay that way."

When Uther heard the lack of disrespect within his son's voice, he looked at him with a shocked expression. "Excuse me?"

The prince continued to walk. "You heard me. We can't afford to waste time on your laziness and natural ability to be completely useless."

"Arthur!" Uther angrily exclaimed, ceasing his journey down the corridors of the castle.

The King's son stopped walking and turned around to look at whom he figured was Merlin. Astonish and irritation formed over his face. "Merlin, what is wrong with you? Are you deranged?"

"I most certainly am not!" Uther shouted, still forgetting whose body he was in. "And how_ dare _you speak to me with such little respect!"

The astonished and irritated face of Arthur morphed into an impatient and slightly livid one. "How dare _I _speak to _you_ with little respect? Who do you think you are, the king?"

"As a matter of fact – "

"Silence! You are forgetting who's in charge here," seethed Arthur, closing the distance between him and Uther. "I think it's about time I remind you of your position in this castle."

Completely ignoring any attempts his supposed manservant made to speak, Arthur grabbed the back of Uther's shirt and roughly dragged him off, a plan already formulated within his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: -gigglesnort- Uthert.. hehe..  
__Ahem, anywho, thanks again for all the great reviews! As I've said before, they get me really pumped and excited to write the next chapter. Now, I've gotten a few questions about Merlin's magic and what has happened to it. To be honest, at first, I wasn't really sure about what I was going to do about the magic. But now I think I've got something figured out, and I'll most likely stick it in the next chapter, if not the one after that. Again, if you guys have any suggestions/random comments, I'd love to hear them!_

_And now, I give you guys the next chapter. As always, enjoy mon amis! _

* * *

_Ker-splat! Thunk – thunk – thunk – THUD!_

Not for a moment – not for one tiny, fleeting moment – did Uther ever think he would end up in this position. He never imagined he had to suffer a punishment that an ordinary _servant_ had to endure. In all his many, many years of ruling, the thought of being succumbed to such a low level of humiliation never entered his mind for even an instant. But here he was, his head stuck between two pieces of wood and his hands chained together while men, women, and small children delightfully hurled rotten fruit at his head. They looked like they were having such fun. Did they not know who they were pelting rotten foot at? Did they not know that it was Uther – King Uther! The man who dedicates himself to his work, only so that they can have peaceful lives! If he wasn't too busy trying to dodge the incoming food, Uther would have been furious. At least, on the bright side, the man whom they thought they were throwing things at was an actual servant and not the king. Still, he still could not help but feel disgraced by his situation. And to top the whole thing off, it was his one and only son who had given the command to put him in the stocks. His son, Arthur! Could this day possibly get any worse?

Letting out a silent, exasperated sigh, Uther closed his eyes and braced himself for the incoming wad of decaying cabbage.

———

Meanwhile, Gaius and Merlin continued their search for the missing king. The first stop they went to was back at their chambers, but sadly, the king was not there. From there they began to search throughout the castle. Due to the fact that Merlin – also currently known as "The King" – kept getting distracted by people bowing to him as he passed, their search was slower than Gaius would have liked. The whole time the court physician kept wondering what happened to the king, while Merlin, on the other hand, kept wondering why servants bowed and said "good day, my lord" with frightened faces as he walked past. At one point in their journey, Gaius actually had to stop so he could regain Merlin's focus.

"Merlin, come, we cannot waste time."

Merlin snapped back into reality and turned to look at his mentor and apologized, "Sorry." Just before he resumed walking, he saw something past Gaius that caused a slight smile to spread across his aged face, "Arthur!"

Gaius turned around and, indeed, saw Arthur heading down the hallway. Hearing his name shouted like that, Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at his father with surprise.

"Arthur, we need your help," Merlin – er, "King Uther" began, approaching the prince, "do you know where the king is?"

Again, Arthur gave him a surprised look, but this time it was mingled with confusion, "Do I know where – ?"

Gaius interrupted before Merlin could say anything else, "Sire, what your father means to say is, have you seen Merlin?"

This, if anything, had confused Arthur immensely. "You are looking for _Merlin?_" he asked incredulously, "Why do you want him?"

Gaius quickly jumped in, "Your father's servant is ill today with a stomach virus. We thought Merlin would be a good substitute until she is better." He lied, not missing a single beat.

"To be honest," Arthur said, "there are much better servants in the castle, but if you want Merlin then you may take him. You might want to clean him off a bit, however." An amused grin played off of the boy's face.

Raising an eyebrow, Gaius asked, "By what do you mean, sire?" Merlin, on the other hand, knew exactly what Arthur was talking about. He had begun to call Arthur names under his breath.

"Merlin was confused on who was in charge, so I thought a few hours in the stocks would do him some good." With that, the prince respectfully bowed and excused himself.

". . . and prat," finished Merlin before looking down at the distraught physician.

"Oh my. Merlin, this is not good." Gaius whispered once the blonde-haired boy was out of earshot.

Merlin simply sighed, "You think?" Without any further conversation, the two resumed their journey throughout the castle, but this time with a destination in mind.

———

He couldn't stand it anymore. Uther was getting tired of the constant battering of rotten fruit. How could people enjoy throwing inedible food for such an extensive period of time? He did not know. All he knew was that his patience was growing thin.

Spitting out a few pieces of tomato and a rotten grape, Uther mustered all the power his new, less-intimidating voice could get, "Cease your fire! I command you to stop immediately!"

The throwing of the rotten fruit abruptly came to an end. Looking up at the crowd of people surrounding him, Uther saw that they were all staring at him with a blank face.

"'Ey, little servant boy thinks he's the king!" shouted an older voice from within the crowd. Everyone burst out laughing. They resumed throwing their food, but this time with insults such as "pardon me, my lord!" and "what are you gonna do if we do not stop, _sire?" _being thrown at him as well. Defeated, Uther hung his head and waited it for all to be over.

As if by perfect timing, a somewhat recognizable voice whispered into his ear, "Do not worry, sire, we shall get you out."

Still thinking he was being made fun of, Uther casted his gaze up to the man next to him and opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the identity of the man, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a sigh of relief.

———

Merlin and Gaius had finally reached the stocks, but at a moment too late. Not only was their King being pelted with rotten fruit, he was also being insulted and laughed at. Merlin watched with a scrunched up face; no doubt it brought back painful memories, and not to mention it was rather weird to be watching himself in the stocks.

Although Merlin was busy watching himself being punished, Gaius had something else for him to do.

"Sire – I mean, Merlin," he said, snapping the once-a-servant-but-now-a-king back into reality, again. "I am going to get Uther out of the stocks. You need to stop the crowd."

The face of the king looked down at him with slight surprised, "How am I going to do _that?_"

"You are a king now. Command them." With that, Gaius turned and ran through the crossfire to get to Uther.

Merlin looked at the crowd. Gaius was right, as of this moment, he _was _king. Taking a deep breath, he spoke with such a commanding voice he wasn't even sure it was his own – or, rather, Uther's. "Ahem! People, I command you to stop!"

The whole crowd stopped in mid-throw. They all looked over at Merlin with wide, shocked eyes. After a moment of silence Merlin cleared his throat, ". . . please?"

But that was not needed. Every single one of them – young and old – fell onto their knees. A wave of murmurs erupted around him, saying things like "sorry, my lord," and "forgive us, sire." Hearing this, a triumphant smile broke across Merlin's face. That was actually fun. "Now, for my next command, you are to never throw rotten fruit at that servant again." Merlin added, just as someone grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Come, _sire,_" came Gaius' sarcastic voice. With the battered 'Merlin' in tow, they made their way back into the castle, leaving a bunch of bowing, and slightly confused, citizens in their wake.

Throughout their whole journey through the castle, Merlin could not help but stare at himself. It was almost disturbing to see himself being dragged by the arm, completely covered with who-knows-what. It was one thing to actually know the feeling of being in the stocks, but to watch himself from another's perspective? It was just weird. Luckily, Uther could not see Merlin, for the king was too busy trying to get tomato out of his eyes. Just before Gaius had relieved him from the stocks, a squishy, putrid tomato had hit the man square in the face, causing him temporary blindness.

Finally, they had reached Uther's private quarters, and from there Gaius seated the blind king onto a chair and handed him a cloth, which he got from a passing servant in the hall. "Sire, are you alright?" Gaius asked as Uther wiped his (also to be known as Merlin's) face.

"I most certainly am not!" Uther snapped, still unable to open his tomato-stained eyes. "I have never been more humiliated in my life."

"Except for that time you married a troll."

Both Uther and Gaius looked over at Merlin, Gaius giving Merlin a _'shut up'_ look, while Uther tried his best to figure out who had spoken. "Who was that? That voice . . . it is familiar."

Gaius nervously cleared his throat. "That, my lord, was you."

Uther turned his face towards Gaius, "Me? What do you mean that was me?" He paused for a moment, and then urgently began to wipe the tomato from his eyes. For a moment, Gaius saw Merlin look around for a place to hide out of the corner of his eye, but Uther had finally managed to free his eyes from their rotten fruit trap and searched the room for the one who was claimed to be him.

At last, their eyes met, Uther's young ones filled with anger and shock, whereas Merlin's older, wiser ones were filled with fear for what was to come.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Good King Wenceslas, this is way overdue. I sincerely apologize for the extremely late chapter, but school has been kicking my butt up and down the west coast for the last two weeks. However, I'm finally on break! Woo! Hopefully this means more writing. Plus, I finished The Task and so now all my attention can be focused on this lovely story._ Although, sadly, this one probably isn't the best chapter. Sorry it's short and not that good, but I only ask that if you resort to throwing small objects at me, please refrain from using anything with spikes. Yeouch.

_Eh, I've ranted enough. Like I've said, reviews are always welcomed! Enjoy, mon amis!_

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**Chapter Five**

Silence. Complete silence. No one dared to speak, no one dared to move. It was just the three of them: Uther, Merlin, and Gaius. Normally having the three together wasn't really an awkward situation, unless Merlin had done something to get himself in trouble. This time, it was because of another, crazier situation: the King and the Manservant had switched bodies.

Uther and Merlin were staring at each other, each with a different expression across their face. Uther, the King-turned-manservant, was looking at his body with an increasingly livid face, whereas Merlin, the manservant-slash-warlock-turned -King, was looking at his body in an almost frightened manner. Neither he nor the court physician knew what was running through the King's head.

But finally, after their long staring contest, Uther made a move to speak. Both Merlin and Gaius relaxed now that the silence was broken, yet their moment of relaxation did not last very long.

"What have you done?"

This question surprised both the 'king' and the physician.

"…pardon me?"

"You heard me! What type of sorcery is this? Answer me!" Uther – although looking a tad less intimidating now that he was in the body of a young servant – stepped forward, causing the boy in the king's body to take a step back.

"It wasn't me! I wasn't – it was – " Merlin tried to explain, but Uther had rushed forward and grabbed his shirt, disallowing Merlin the chance to speak.

"I swear, boy, if you do not reverse this, I shall hang you by your toes and burn you alive!" Uther raged, shaking Merlin back and forth, ignoring the fact that he was threatening his own body.

Gaius, thankfully, stepped in, "Sire, listen! It was not Merlin's fault!" He positioned himself right next to Uther, who was still clutching Merlin's clothes. "Please, Uther, you must trust me; it was not Merlin's doing. Does he look like the type to use magic?"

King Uther stopped his violent shaking. He stared at his own body fiercely for a few moments before roughly letting go. "You are right. Then who is behind this?" The man demanded, turning his attention toward Gaius.

"It is as much as a mystery to me as it is to you, sire."

Uther let out an exasperated grunt. He then began to pace the room in an aggravated manner. "Wonderful! How am I supposed to get back into my own body if I do not know who is behind all of this? I certainly cannot rule the kingdom in _this_ body!"

Merlin was clearly offended. "What's wrong with my – "

"My Lord, may I suggest we devise a plan?" Gaius interrupted before Merlin could say anything stupid that would dig himself deeper into the big hole he was already in.

"A plan?" Uther asked, stopping in his tracks to look at Gaius.

"Yes, a plan. Until we can get you both back into your own bodies, we should think up a plan in order to not arouse suspicions."

The king looked at the physician for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, yes, you are correct. What did you have in mind for this 'plan?'" He asked, leaning in closer. Merlin did the same.

"First off, _no one_ should know of this. I am afraid the people would not take the news that their King had switch bodies with a manservant very well." Gaius began, but Merlin interrupted.

"What about Arthur?"

There was a moment's pause. "For now, it would be best that we leave him out. Now, Merlin, you shall have to continue as if you are the king."

"But I don't know how!"

"But he's just a child!"

The bodyswapees spoke in cohesion, both objecting to the idea of Merlin running the city.

"And that is why Uther shall be your advisor." Gaius nodded.

"He'll be my what?"

"I'll be his what?"

Once again, they both replied at the same time.

The court physician sighed. "You shall have to advise Merlin on being king if this is to work. I, in the meantime, shall figure out how to reverse this."

All three of them were silent for some time. Merlin looked at Uther with a nervous face, while Uther looked back with hard, loathing eyes. After a moment, Uther spoke with a defeated sigh, "Very well, I shall 'advise' him."

"Good. Now, the first thing we should do is – " Gaius began, but abruptly stopped when he came to a realization. He suddenly stared at Merlin as if he had seen a ghost jump right out of him.

"Gaius?" Merlin asked, both he and Uther looking at the older man quizzically.

Gaius snapped back into reality and cleared his throat. "I..yes..the first thing we should do is get you some food, sire." He suggested, throwing the two for a loop.

"Food?"

"Yes, yes, food. Go to the kitchen and bring back some breakfast."

Uther, clearly not happy about being commanded by Gaius, wordlessly stood up and left the room. Once he had left, Gaius turned to Merlin and grabbed his (the king's) arm. "Merlin," he whispered, "your magic."

"My magic?" Merlin asked, unaware of why Gaius would take such a sudden interest in his sorcery. "What about my – oh."

"Do you think Uther has it?"

"I don't…I don't know."

Merlin and Gaius stared at each other, both in fear of what was yet to come.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I'm late! I'm late, for a very important update! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late I'm late I'm late!_

_As the song says, I'm way too late for this update. I'm sorry! I have no real excuse except I just got caught up in Break/Christmas/My birthday (Jan 1st, woo!)  
Although I would like to say thanks to those who have not abandoned me and are still reviewing and adding this story to their alerts list. You know who you are! And if you don't, you probably should go see a doctor._

_Anywho, here you go, chapter six! Remember: Read it, love it, review it, suggest it, eat it._

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Chapter Six**

People jumped, they ran, they even dove; all so they could get out of the way of the incoming army. Well, technically, it wasn't a real army, but it sure seemed like hundreds of clad-armored men were marching through the halls at the speed King Uther was walking. It did not matter if he was in the body of a servant or a woman; he was scary all the same. But, can you blame him for being in a less-than-chipper mood? Uther had woken up in a different body, sent to the stocks by his own flesh and blood, been pelted with rotten fruit, and was downgraded from the role of a high-and-mighty King to a clumsy servant, all in the course of one day.

To top it all off, the former-king had just been commanded to 'go and get food' – the nerve! If Uther was back in his own body, Gaius wouldn't even think twice about telling Uther to go do a servant boy's errand. Yes, the court physician had said something about not raising any suspicions, but he still had no right to tell the King to leave, as if he was a child! Something was up, Uther thought, and he was going to figure it out once he changes back into his old body and executes the magician responsible. Yes, that's what he was going to do…

"Merlin!"

At the sound of someone calling him, Uther broke away from his thoughts and directed his attention towards a young maid. He would have kept walking without a second glance if it weren't for the fact that the maid had stopped right in front of him.

"It is nice to see you," the maid greeted with a sweet smile. Obviously, she was acquainted with Merlin. No doubt Merlin was the type to chat with other servants and brighten up their day. Perhaps the young girl was looking to do some cheering up of her own? A blind person could have seen that "Merlin" was in a rather nasty mood. If only the girl could have seen herself that this was a mood she could not cheer up.

After inspecting the livid manservant, the girl saw that he was caked with rotten food, "Did Arthur send you to the stocks again? What luck." She smiled, but when the king-in-the-menservants-body replied with an annoyed face, her smile dimmed. Feeling the need to bring in some humor, she risked speaking again, "Are you alright? Your face looks almost as contorted as Uther's when he's in a bad mood."

Now, the normal Merlin would probably smile to this – it has been known that the servants like to joke around when it comes to the king. They do it in secret, of course, but they still like to joke nonetheless. What the young girl didn't know, however, was that today, Merlin was anything but normal.

"Of _course_ I look like Uther! Why wouldn't I look like Uther? Oblivious, imbecilic child!" The King threw his hands up in the air, thoroughly startling the female servant. Not even leaving her time to compose herself, Uther stormed off, leaving the poor girl wishing that she could sink right into the floor and disappear.

———

"Gaius – what if I don't have my magic?"

Merlin watched as Gaius began to pace the room, his hands clasped behind his back. The physician always took to pacing when he had some major thinking to do. Sometimes Merlin liked it, for it meant that Gaius's genius mind was working – then, on the other hand, sometimes it made Merlin dizzy. But today, he was too busy fretting over the possibility that Uther may still have his magic to think about Gaius and his pacing.

"If your magic still resides in your own body, then we can be sure to be in some serious trouble." Gaius said in a concerned voice, reaching the end of the room before turning around and resuming his pacing.

"Do you think Uther would accidently use it?" The king-but-not-king asked with a hopeful face. The physician, however, looked at Merlin with distraught eyes.

"There is a good chance."

Merlin suddenly felt short of breath. His heart began to feel as if it was being constricted, and to make matters worse, his stomach felt as if there was a large hole right smack dab in the middle of it. If Merlin didn't have his magic, then who was he? Just a servant stuck in a ruthless king's body? Magic is what made him – it _was _him. The thought of not having his magic made him feel deathly ill. As he's said before: if he can't use magic, he might as well be dead.

"Let's try it."

Gaius had spoken, pulling Merlin away from his morbid and depressing thoughts. Not fully contemplating his mentor's statement, the boy raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Let's see if you still have your magic."

A second didn't even pass before the body of the king was up on its feet. For a few moments, the thought of never being able to use his magic receded from Merlin's mind and the thought of having his magic with him took front seat. Gaius did not need to give him any instructions before he was pointing his hand at the nearest inanimate object, which conveniently was the chair he was just sitting in. Saying a quick prayer, Merlin closed his eyes and muttered the phrase, "Helsbeem diahlo."

Merlin waited for a few seconds, then opened one eye and looked at the chair. It was in exactly the same place. Determined, he stiffened his arm and gave the chair a hard, threatening look that said he was going to do many nasty things to it if it did not cooperate. "Helsbeem diahlo."

The chair remained still.

The powerless warlock dropped his hand in defeat. All of the depressing thoughts he had before came flooding back, but Gaius had stopped their flow by his suggestion, "Try a different spell."

With a nod, Merlin did a complete one-eighty and picked his next target – the window. Closing the open window is one of the simpler spells, so if this did not work, then he was in deep trouble. Giving the window the same hard look he gave the chair, he lifted up his hand and took a deep breath, "Gelsing."

Several intense moments passed as he waited for something. A single movement, a twitch, anything – the window could have broken into a thousand pieces for all he cared. Sadly, the window remained as still as the grave…no, wait! Something had moved… It was the curtain! The curtain had waved outward before it returned to its still position. Merlin felt his heart leap for joy as he turned around to face Gaius, his wrinkled face beaming with absolute happiness. He had it back! He had his magic –

The old man shook his head and sighed. "It was just the wind."

And once again, Merlin's world shattered into a million little pieces. Instead of melting into a glob of nothing like he felt he should do, Merlin began to point his hand at several other objects, shouting a different ancient word each time. The bed, the table, the dresser, the floor, and the door – he pointed at them all, hoping that something would happen.

As if Merlin and Gaius didn't have enough to worry about, Merlin had pointed at the door right at the worst possible moment. Uther had just entered the room, holding a fresh plate of food.

The servant inside the king's body froze, just as the king inside the servant had froze. Merlin immediately put his hand down and was ready to explain why he was dancing around the room shouting spells, but luckily, Gaius interjected. "Sire! I see you've acquired the food – "

"What were you doing?" Uther asked, ignoring Gaius and directing his question towards Merlin. "What were you saying?"

The feeling of melting into a giant glob of nothing returned to Merlin once more, but since he could do no such thing, he had to reply, "I – I was trying to – to – "

"Out with it! What were you doing?" Uther demanded, setting the food down on the table and glaring at Merlin. The accusation in his voice was undeniable.

"Sire, Merlin was simply – " Gaius tried to interfere, but Uther ignored him.

"Those words..." the king began, stepping closer and closer to the servant.

"They were nothing!"

"Don't play dumb! I know that language…You were using – !"

A large crash and a thump later, Merlin was staring down at his own body sprawled across the floor with pieces of painted clay strewn all over.

"Sorry, sire, but it had to be done."

Merlin slowly moved his eyes away from the unconscious Uther and saw that Gaius was standing behind his body, a broken vase in his hands. By the looks of it, Gaius had knocked Uther out cold.

"Gaius – ?"

Gaius said not a word of explanation to Merlin. He simply waved a hand and said, "Come, we do not have much time before he wakes up."


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thanks for your reviews, guys! Although I would like to quickly remind you that I'm not the only one responsible for this fic - my good friend sarahelizabeth1993 was the one who uttered the phrase, "Why don't you have Merlin switch bodies with Uther?" Without her you guys probably wouldn't be getting the silliness that is Merlin and Uther. So, thanks Sarah!  
__In response to adlerj: How many chapters am I planning to do? That's a tough one.. I haven't really thought it out. I'm hoping to just drag it on and see if I can to a whole bunch of them. Besides, the story is practically writing itself. Seriously, because of the randomness of the plot and all of the awesome suggestions/reviews, this story is going down a path that I can't control. So, really, I can barely ballpark on how many chapters it will be.  
__Still in response to adlerj: Actually, for any others who also thought that the last servant girl was Gwen, it wasn't. Ha, fooled you!...not really. That was just some random girl I felt should feel the wraith of Uther-in-Merlin. I'm planning on having Gwen appear in one of the chapters sooner or later.. _

_Anyway, enjoy this slightly longer update!_

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**Chapter Seven**

In all of his time staying in Camelot, not once did Merlin ever see Gaius do something as shocking as what he just did to the king. On several occasions the physician has admitted to disliking the wrongdoings of Uther, but he had stayed faithful nonetheless. When he was called to do so, Gaius had always helped Uther out during a crisis. But this – this action was completely out of character. Even though he disliked the king for his hatred towards magic, the warlock never even dreamed of doing such a drastic action. No wonder Merlin was so perplexed at Gaius knocking the king in the back of the head with a vase that he did not hear his mentor order him to help pick up the pieces.

"Merlin, _hurry; _we cannot afford to waste time." Gaius sternly said to Merlin as he plucked the broken pieces off of the king's unconscious body then placed them in the half-broken vase he was still carrying.

Doing as he was told, Merlin bent down and began to help clean up, glancing awkwardly towards Uther every-so-often (it was _his_ body that was lying unconscious on the floor, after all). "Won't the King be mad?" Merlin asked, wondering how on earth they were going to explain to Uther why Gaius had knocked him out, as well as hoping he wouldn't have to be the one to explain it.

"For what?" Gaius nonchalantly asked, dropping a rather large piece into the broken vase.

His question had caught Merlin off guard. He furrowed his eyebrows, "For knocking him out."

"I didn't knock the king out," Gaius said mysteriously, not even glancing towards Merlin, "I knocked out Arthur's manservant."

It took Merlin a moment to process the statement, but it finally clicked when he looked down and realized he was still in the king's nightgown. "Ah – of course." Merlin continued to help clean up the pieces until the floor was clean and the broken vase was completely filled with fragments of the vase's other half.

"You know," he stood up and looked down at his passed out body, "I'm never going to let you hear the end of knocking him out."

For the first time all day, Gaius let out an amused chuckle. "Yes, yes, I was afraid of that – now, get rid of this." Merlin was unexpectedly handed the broken vase full of its shattered parts. Still not following Gaius' plan of action, Merlin looked around the room in search for a place to hide the evidence. After numerous moments of strenuous eye-glancing, he walked over to Uther's large wardrobe and stuffed the vase inside it. Once he threw some clothes on top of it, he nodded to himself in an approving matter and closed the wardrobe, then turned back to Gaius, who was just shaking his head.

"What?"

"Merlin, when I said hide it I didn't mean – " Gaius' explanation was halted by a loud knock at the door. Both he and Merlin exchanged looks.

"Father, are you in there?"

"Arthur!" Merlin whispered, cursing the prince for his horrible timing. He looked over to Gaius and gave him a questioning look that asked '_should we let him in?'_ The physician thought about it for a moment, but eventually nodded.

With a silent sigh, Merlin turned towards the door and called, "Come in."

And in walked Arthur. "Sorry to bother you sire, but I thought I should tell you – _Merlin?_"

To neither of their surprise, Arthur was taken aback by the sight of his manservant – or, to be more accurate, his father – sprawled across the ground, unconscious.

"What happened?" He asked, gazing down at the out cold body cautiously, "Is he….you know…?" There was no mistaking the worried tone inside the prince's unfinished question. No matter how hard Arthur tried, he could not hide the fact that he was troubled by the thought of Merlin dead.

"No, no, sire, he is quite well – he just fainted." Came the reassuring voice of Gaius.

Arthur let out a breath of relief. "Oh – good."

For once, Merlin was thankful that he was inside the King's body. This way, he could properly see Arthur's reaction to him being hurt. Merlin always joked with the prince by saying he would miss him if something ever happened and he couldn't live without his manservant, but he never was too sure that Arthur cared about him until now.

While Merlin grinned smugly in the corner, Gaius continued, "I'm assuming he fainted because of his lack of sleep for the past few days." Merlin was astounded at how Gaius could come up with such an elaborate story without even a moment's pause.

Luckily, Arthur seemed to buy the story. He quickly shaved off his 'worried-that-Merlin-might-have-died' face and replaced it with his normal 'I'm-a-prince-I-don't-worry-about-servants' one. "Well, when he wakes up tell him that I don't care how many times he faints – unless he's dead or he suddenly lost all his limbs, he still has to go to work."

The real Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Actually, before you leave, Arthur, could you go and fetch Merlin a cold towel? He has a bit of a fever and I'm afraid it might get worse if we don't cool him down." Gaius asked. Arthur looked at the physician, and then shifted his gaze over to who he no doubt though was his father, as if to ask him if it was alright that Gaius was giving him an order. Merlin simply nodded, causing Arthur to silently groan.

"Very well." The prince made a move to leave, but was stopped when he stepped on something which made a loud _crunch._ "What the – ?" He moved his foot out of the way to uncover the smashed remains of the vase which was used to knock his real father out. "What is this?"

"That must be Merlin's. It could have fallen out of his pocket when he fainted," suggested Gaius. Arthur just shook his head.

"Even though he's nothing but a bumbling buffoon, he never ceases to surprise me." Before Merlin could angrily reply to Arthur's comment, the prince made his way out the door in search for a wet cloth. After he left the room, Gaius moved to shut the door.

"What are we going to do?" inquired Merlin.

Gaius pondered for a moment as he looked down at the still unconscious King Uther. "Well," he began, "Arthur doesn't seem to suspect anything, which is good."

Merlin was just about to say something about Arthur being too oblivious to suspect _anything_, but Gaius was one step ahead of him, for the manservant-turned-king was given a warning look. "Why don't we just tell him?" He asked, getting Gaius' not-so-subtle hint that his snarky comments could wait until they weren't in a crisis.

The old physician continued to think and ponder, "He might not take the news very well – if it takes it at all."

"Yes, but if anyone were to notice that the King has suddenly stopped ranting and raving about how much he hates magic, it would be Arthur."

Gaius knew all too well that Merlin was correct; the young manservant may have some chance of impersonating the king, but for him to renounce magic, the thing that makes him whole? He's got about as much as chance as Arthur _not_ being a complete royal prat.

After several moments of silence, Gaius caved, "Very well; we shall tell Arthur. You must be the one to do it, though – he will listen to you."

Once they both came to an understanding that they were going to try and tell Arthur about the body-switching, they patiently awaited the Prince's return. Twice Merlin tried to ask why they were leaving the King's body on the cold hard floor and not putting it up on the bed, but both times Gaius waved a hand and said it would not be necessary. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Arthur reentered the room.

"Sorry for the wait," The prince began, handing Gaius the wet cloth he requested, "I couldn't find a servant to go get the cloth for me."

Merlin rolled his eyes yet again.

"That is no problem, sire." Gaius took the cloth and bent down to Uther's body then began to tab his face. When Arthur wasn't looking, Gaius quickly shot Merlin a _'do it now_' face. So, with a deep breath, Merlin put on his best Uther face and opened his mouth – but Arthur spoke first.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, father. Sometime's Merlin can be as dumb and weak as he looks."

"Arthur, go muck out the stables."

The sudden command for the prince to humiliate himself by doing a servant's job caught everyone off guard – even Merlin himself, and he's the one who gave the command.

"_Pardon me?_" Arthur tried his best not to sound like he was questioning the King's authority, but he had become flabbergasted by the sudden outburst.

"You heard me," Merlin said, sounding more like Uther than he ever thought he could. He did not see the shocked expression that was plastered across Gaius' face, "Go muck out the stables."

The prince looked as if he was just told to do something as completely horrible as going and beheading a small child. "But – father, I have training – duties – "

"I don't care what you have!" In response Merlin's raised voice, both Arthur's and Gaius' eyes widened immensely, "Just go! _Now!_"

Absolutely astonished, and slightly angry at his father for making him do such an un-prince-like task, Arthur bowed quickly, "Yes, _father,_" Not giving the king another chance to yell, he turned on his heel and walked out the door with his head held high, albeit his ego had taken a serious blow.

The moment Arthur was gone, Gaius rounded on his ward. "Merlin!"

"What?" Merlin snapped at Gaius, causing the old man to involuntarily take a step back.

"Merlin, what has gotten into you? You sound like Uther."

Hearing this, the Merlin's anger deflated and he returned to his normal self. "I – I don't know. I just...turned into Uther."

To this, Gaius made a "hmm..." sound and began to scrutinize Merlin, something which the current king wish the physician wouldn't do – it made him feel like Gaius was suspicious of something that he wasn't. "Well, never mind Arthur – you will simply have to find him later," he began, but his next thought was interrupted by a movement on the floor.

"He's waking up!" Merlin exclaimed, panic beginning to rise within his chest; for he was still clueless on how they were going to explain the whole ordeal to Uther.

Gaius, however, knew exactly what to do. "Get on the floor."

"What?"

"Lay down on the floor – on your back, like Uther."

"But – "

"_Merlin."_

With a grunt, Merlin did as he was told and laid down on the floor – although not easily, for his old joints cracked quite painfully on his way down. Eventually, he made it down into a horizontal position not too far away from his body. As Uther's stirring began to become more frequent, Gaius motioned for Merlin to shut his eyes. Reluctantly he obeyed, still mystified at what the plan was…


	8. Chapter 8

_I know, I know - my extreme lateness is unacceptable. I could sit here and spew out a thousand different reasons as to why -- viruses, sickness, school -- but I'll spare you guys the three hours and just say I went on a bit of a writing hiatus. Guess what? I'm back, and I come bearing a lovely new chapter! I would like to thank in advance those who are still reading this, even though I'm about a billion years late with this update._

_As I always say, enjoy, mon amis~_

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**Chapter Eight**

Sometimes, Merlin just did not get Gaius.

Here he was, laying on the floor with his eyes closed, all because Gaius told him to. Not only was he completely baffled as to why Gaius knocked out the King with a vase, but now he was also baffled as to why he had to lay on the floor. Why couldn't they just tell Uther what happened?...oh, right, because this was _Uther_ they were talking about. Even if he was in a simple manservant's body, there is no doubt the King's temper would remain the same, or maybe even worsen. Merlin was even a tad on edge now that he was in some older person's body. And to make matters worse, this was the man who hated – no, _despised – _magic, the very thing that made the warlock in disguise whole! Why couldn't Merlin have switched bodies with someone else? A citizen, a guard, Arthur, or even a girl would have been nice. Anything must be better than being in Uther's body…Okay, perhaps he would have to think a bit about the being a girl part, but that's not the point here; the point is, Merlin just did not get Gaius.

But, he obeyed. That is why he continued to lay on the floor, relaxed, and with his eyes shut as he silently listened to the goings on around him.

"Welcome back, Sire." Merlin heard Gaius greet the awakening King.

A few shuffling sounds were heard as Gaius helped Uther to his feet. "Where am – what happened?"

"You fainted, my lord."

"I…augh…fainted?"

"Yes, my lord, both you and Merlin fainted."

After hearing this, Merlin felt Gaius' foot jab him in the ribs. It took all his willpower not to yelp in pain. Luckily, Merlin got the meaning of the gesture, and began to "wake up."

"Gaius, what happened?" Merlin asked, doing his best to act groggy like the King.

"You and Uther fainted – most likely a side effect to your current conditions." Gaius skillfully lied, helping Merlin up to his feet; Uther was already on his bed, a hand on his head and a 'oh, woe is me' expression on his face.

"By all that is good in Camelot, I swear I cannot bear anymore of this body."

"At least you do not have to worry that yours might wither to dust," Merlin retorted back, which in turn received him an angry glance from the King.

Needing to get both their attentions away from each other, Gaius spoke up, "I am afraid you are both stuck like this until we figure out what is wrong, and how to fix it."

Merlin fake-rubbed a spot on his head, as if he had actually hurt it when he fainted, "How are we going to do that?"

"Our first step is to inform Arthur of this predicament; he's the only other one we can trust as of now."

"Where _is_ Arthur?" Uther unfortunately asked.

For the first time all day, the wise old court physician could not come up with a believable lie that would explain where Arthur was. So, he decided to tell the truth with a sigh, "He's..mucking out the stables, Sire."

"He's doing _what?"_

Merlin immediately found a spot on the ground to stare at.

"Mucking out the..my son..the prince!" After a bit of mumbling, Uther flung himself off the bed and stormed out the door. Both Gaius and Merlin watched in dismay.

"Perhaps you should follow him, Merlin," Gaius wearily suggested, "and maybe you should tell Arthur while the both of you are there."

Merlin let out an exasperated grunt, yet did as was suggested and trailed after Uther – but not without one last sarcastic comment.

"And this day just keeps getting better…"

———

Uther refused to believe his son was mucking out the stables.

His son, the heir to his thrown, renowned for his great skill with the sword, doing a…a..peasant's job? He just could not process the thought in his mind. He refused to believe it as he rushed down the hallway, through corridor after corridor, passing person after person. He refused to believe it as he finally made it outside. He refused to believe it even as the stables came into view. As they came closer, he kept saying to himself "It is not true. The Prince is not mucking out the stables. It is not true."

Oh, but it was.

At first, when he entered the stables, Uther thought that the dirt-crusted boy was just another one of his workers. He was just about ready to turn on his heel and leave with a triumphant face, but abruptly stopped when the young man turned around so his face was visible.

"….Arthur?"

The Prince looked at his father-turned-Merlin with a shocked expression, as if he had been caught doing something illegal. Once he realized it was his manservant who was staring at him in horror, he relaxed. Although he reeked of horses and had dirt smudged all over his face, Arthur could not help but carry an air of importance, especially by the way he stood. Shoulders erect, standing up straight, hands resting on his shovel as if it were a sword, and most important of all, the glare in his eyes.

"Hello, _Mer_lin. Come to see if it was true, did you?"

"Arthur, I – "

"I bet you could not _wait_ for this moment. Arthur, crowned prince of Camelot, doing a servant's job. Must be quite a sight." Arthur stepped closer and closer to Uther, sarcasm hanging on to every word. It was apparent that he was in a less-than-chipper mood.

"Listen – "

"Well, you know what? I will not stand for this!" He took his shovel and threw it at who he thought was Merlin, "I am prince! I have more important things to do than stand here and be forced to perform a lowly manservant's job!" With those final words, Arthur stormed out, leaving his father to stand in the stables and hold a dirt-infested shovel. Before Uther could follow him, Arthur reappeared once more, but this time he was backing up, trying his best to avoid a stumbling king.

"Arthur, there you are!" Merlin exclaimed, slightly out of breath after running throughout the castle in his new, aged body. Uther, on the other hand, never felt better.

Quickly glancing over at Uther, Arthur snatched back the shovel he previously possessed, "Sire, I was just doing the…duty, you requested."

To this, Uther snapped his head over to look at Merlin, giving him the '_so, this is all _your _doing' _death glare.Feeling the need to stare at anything but his own hateful face, Merlin forced himself to address the matter at hand.

"Arthur, there is something we need to tell you."

The prince looked at Merlin with an incredulous face. "_We?"_ Never could he recall a time when his father ever used that word in reference to a servant – let alone _Merlin._

Luckily, Uther caught on to what Merlin was talking about. "Yes, we do."

Trying his best not to laugh at Arthur's confused face, Merlin continued, "Your father – Uther – uh, Merlin – _we_ have..somehow.."

"Switched bodies." Uther finished.

Arthur just stared at them.

"I am Merlin," The current king said.

"And I am Uther, your father," The current manservant-slash-secret-warlock said.

It seemed as though Arthur had not heard him, for all he did was stand and stare at the two, shock quite apparent on his face. Uther thought he was going to have to repeat himself, yet before he could get the chance to, he found himself being slammed against the hard, dirty ground. What had happened was all a blur to him. However, from what he gathered, he found that Arthur had grabbed his arm, twisted it, and then pinned him face down on the ground…right into a pile of manure.

"Arthur!"

"Alright, devil, you better tell me the truth or I shall be forced to use my sword! Who are you?" Arthur shouted, twisting Uther's arm so hard that he let out a scream of pain.

"Augh! Get – get off of me!"

"Arthur!" Merlin's attempts to get the angry and confused prince to listen were in vain. So, seeing no other way to get him off of the King, Merlin reached down to grab Arthur – but he was interrupted by two young girls entering the stables.

"Really, Gwen, I am only going to ride my horse for a couple of hours; you did not need to pack me so much food! I do not know how I will ever – oh, my."

Everyone froze in shock, including the two girls: the Lady Morgana and her loyal servant, Gwen. If anyone was surprised, it was definitely those two. It was quite a fiasco – Arthur pinning his manservant down to the ground, while the King just stood there…still in his nightgown.

Merlin seized this opportunity and quickly snatched the back of Arthur's shirt, prying him right off his father with surprising strength.

Uther, who had been trying to not breath in horse poo the whole time, quickly leaped up to his feet and backed away from the crazed child. He then began to wipe his face in a frantic attempt to remove all the waste from his face. Once he was able to see clearly again, he looked at Arthur with such rage that his eyes actually glowed a golden hue. Arthur, for the first time in probably a very, very long time, looked like he wanted to run away out of fear.

Merlin, however, saw the change of color in Uther's eyes and immediately began to panic. "Quick, Sire! Let us go find Gaius and get you cleaned up."

Before anyone could say a word, Merlin grabbed both of the royal's arms and dragged them out, leaving the two girls alone to digest what they had just witnessed.

* * *

_Hooray for a quick appearance by Gwen and Morgana! Don't worry, they'll show up again...eventually._


	9. Chapter 9

_I apologize for any past, future, or present grammar/spelling mistakes in the story. I have no beta, so I gotta beta it myself, and I'm kinda lousy at it. Haha..ha.. Anyway, next chapter!_

_P.S. Huzzah for spring break!_

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* * *

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**Chapter Nine**

Confusion. Bewilderment. Paranoia. Uncertainty. Disbelief. These were just a few of the many emotions that ran through the prince's mind as he tried his best to keep up with his father and manservant – _if_ that was who they were. Ever since they revealed that they had 'swapped bodies,' Arthur had dropped into a weary state. Magic has been seen in this kingdom several times, but switching bodies? If it was anyone else who had switched bodies the concept might be believable, except it was _Merlin_ and his _father_ who had ultimately swapped places. Merlin, his manservant, and Uther, his father and king of Camelot.

Unbelievable.

Arthur was so lost in his thoughts that he was unware that they had entered his father's chambers until Gaius had spoken to Merlin – Uther – _whoever._

"Sire! What happened to you?" he asked, taking notice of the new, putrid smelling addition to Uther's face. The King simply responded with a grunt and angrily marched over to grab the wet cloth from earlier, and then proceeded to wipe away the horse excrements.

"Arthur happened," Merlin not-so-subtly nudged his head towards the Prince.

"Ah. I see," Gaius nodded, showing the tiniest hint of a grin on the corner of his face. Even though he was inside Merlin's body, seeing Uther covered in grime was a pretty amusing spectacle, "So I am guessing you have been informed about the current situation, Arthur?"

Arthur turned to look at the court physician, his face plastered not only with confusion, but now with slight anger. How could Gaius be so calm with all of this? His father, the all-powerful ruler over Camelot, was stuck inside an imbecilic manservant's body! "Yes, Gaius, I have been informed of the current situation, and truthfully, I do not get it," he said, wiping some of the dirt off his face (which only resulted in adding more grime to his already filth-infested features), "You are expecting me to believe that my father and _Merlin_ have somehow swapped bodies? As if by…by…"

"Magic."

The venom and utter disgust in Uther's tone dripped heavy off his tongue. Merlin had even physically flinched, but luckily no one had noticed.

Gaius flicked a quick glance towards the warlock-turned-king, "We can only assume Uther is correct. The only logical explanation is magic."

"Then we must find whoever has done this, and make them pay for their crime," Uther vehemently growled, wiping the last of the grunge off of his face.

"How are we going to do that?" Arthur asked, quite shocked at his father's statement. Although the king was inside Merlin's body, it was disturbing to hear such an intense voice come from his manservant.

Uther paused for a moment to think, then decided, "We shall follow Gaius' plan. Merlin will continue on as king and I shall be his advisor. In the meantime, you, Arthur, shall accompany Gaius in trying to find who did this." He then moved over to his large wardrobe in order to change into some proper clothing.

Arthur looked taken aback by the plan, "Merlin? Continue as king? _Merlin?_ He's just a stupid manservant!"

"Your confidence in me is overwhelming," Merlin rolled his eyes – a gesture uncommonly seen by the King.

"Pardon me, _Mer_lin, for not being overly convinced in your skills as king. Perhaps if you had been one for more than a day I would – "

_Crash!_

The loud, crashing noise caused practically everyone to jump. Upon turning their attention towards the source of the clamor, they saw that a rather large pile of broken glass had fallen out of Uther's wardrobe in a tangled mess.

Uther, of course, was outraged, "Who – !"

"It must have been the maid," Merlin quickly stepped in.

"The maid?" The King looked down at the broken vase, "Well then, remind me to fire her when I get my body back," he snorted before grabbing some clothes and disappearing behind the dressing screen.

Arthur sent an accusing glance towards Merlin, for stuffing a broken vase inside a closet was exactly something his inept manservant would do. Merlin innocently moved his eyes elsewhere.

"I need help," came Uther's call from behind the screen.

The three men looked at the screen in horror.

After a few moments of silence, Uther spoke again, "I _said_ I need help."

No one answered. They took turns looking at each other before both Arthur and Gaius locked their sights on Merlin. "_What?_" he mimed in confusion.

"_Go help him," _Arthur silently replied, waving his hands towards the divider which hid his father.

Merlin became wide-eyed, "_What!? No! _You _do it! He's your father!"_

"_It's _your_ body!"_

Merlin shot a hateful look. Hesitantly, he shuffled over to the screen and stopped just a few feet before it, turning back to give one last pleading look at the Prince and Court Physician. They both urged him to go. With a deep breath to help build his confidence, Merlin took a step closer to the screen. Luckily, this was as far as he needed to go, for Uther reemerged from behind the screen, dressed in clothes that were obviously too big for his new, lanky body, "Never mind, I did it myself. I could not stand to wait any longer."

Merlin let out the breath he was holding and scrambled away from the King.

"I believe you will need to wear Merlin's clothes, sire." Gaius pointed out, slightly grinning at the sight before him. Uther looked down at his visage and saw what the physician was talking about. The clothes were baggy and his pants touched the floor, making it hard for Uther to walk straight.

After a moment's consideration, Uther sighed, "Very well. I shall wear…_his_ clothes…as long as he changes out of that insufferable nightgown."

Merlin looked down and examined himself. It seemed as if he was still in Uther's nightgown, after all.

Gaius nodded, "Go change, Merlin, and then we shall go find clothes for Uther and talk about what to do next."

———

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am, Gwen, now hush up or they might hear us."

Lady Morgana and her maidservant, Gwen, pressed their ears against the door which lead to King Uther's bedchambers. Since they interrupted the boys in the stables, Morgana had been curious to figure out what was going on. She had a hunch that the two royals and the manservant were up to something, and she was going to figure it out despite her maidservant's constant protests. While Gwen was hesitant to lean against the King's door, Morgana used her full bodyweight and pressed herself closer, so as to be able to hear better.

"Hurry up, _Mer_lin, or else I think I might die of boredom," came the muffled and impatient voice of the Prince from behind the closed door. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again, "About time. I must say, Merlin, even in my father's clothes you look like a complete buffoon – uh, no offense, my lord."

Gwen and Morgana exchanged confused looks. Merlin, wearing the King's clothes? Before either of them could contemplate this any further, the door began to open. Gwen started to panic, but fortuitously Morgana was a fast thinker and was able to pull Gwen around the corner with her. Just as the last part of Gwen disappeared behind the corner, the door swung open and the men began to pour out in single file. First came Merlin, his head held up high and his clothes way too baggy for physique. Next came out Arthur, a look of pure frustration plastered onto his face. Not far behind the two came Gaius, looking as calm as ever. As the three disappeared down the hall, a large crash emanated from within Uther's bedchambers. Morgana gestured for Gwen to go check it out first, and with great reluctance she obeyed her Lady's orders. Just as she peered into the room to see what happened, Arthur's commanding voice was heard off in the distance, "Merlin!"

Uther Pendragon stumbled out of the room and, to Gwen's dismay, ran right into the maidservant. Fortunately, before she was able to fall onto her back, the King grabbed her shoulders and put her erect, "My apologies, Gwen," Uther exhibited a smile before releasing her from his grasp and hurrying down the hall in great haste to catch up with the others.

"That was rather…peculiar." Morgana whispered, appearing at the side of her maidservant. Gwen simply stared down the hall with widespread eyes, absolutely flummoxed beyond all comprehension.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Once Uther had ever so reluctantly changed into…_peasant's_ clothes, the men set out to train Merlin in the ways of being a king. Uther informed Merlin on how to talk like a king, walk with importance like a king, and most of all, make significant king-like decisions. Merlin learned all about the life of a king. Whether he was able to retain that knowledge and put it to good use, no one was sure. Arthur was of course quite skeptical, but it was Merlin who doubted himself the most. Could he really be king? Could he really fool people by pretending to be Uther? The thought was unfathomable. Still, he did was he was told, and tried his best to drink in everything Uther told him. That was not all he did, however, for after Uther had spent a great deal preaching and teaching, Gaius pulled the king-in-training aside and filled in all the details Uther had missed: his stubbornness, ability to quickly lose his temper, so on and so forth. Arthur had even volunteered (or, to be more accurate, was forced) to train Merlin in sword fighting, so if a problem were to arise where 'King Uther' needed to use his sword, he would not look like an utter fool. Oh, how he was looking forward to being king.

Merlin's first session of sword training ended with Arthur giving him painful pat on the shoulder and making a not-so-amusing remark about how he still had a long way to go before he was going to win any tournaments. They both parted their ways, Arthur looking as if he had barely broke a sweat, while Merlin stumbled away with aches, pains, and bruises all over. It didn't help that his new body was way past its prime. Never before had he wished to crawl into his own bed and sleep for five days straight, which was something he intended to do. He limped his way through the castle and to his and Gaius' chambers, where he immediately headed towards his room, ready to collapse the second he caught sight of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" came a perplexed voice; Gaius sat behind a large stack of books, his eyebrows furrowed.

"To sleep until next week," groggily replied Merlin as he reached to open his door.

Gaius quickly stood up and hurried towards Merlin, "No, you cannot do that."

"And why not – " Merlin opened his door, then froze.

"Because you are already asleep," Gaius whispered.

Inside Merlin's bed, asleep and snoring, was his own body, although currently occupied by Uther. Merlin was hit with the reality that he wouldn't be sleeping in his bed tonight, "But, Gaius, I – "

"I am sorry, Merlin," Gaius slowly shut the door, "but until you are back in your own body, you must sleep in Uther's room. Would it not be more comfortable, anyway?"

"Yes, except – "

"Really, Merlin," Gaius lead the protesting king to the exit, "of all the things you should be worried about, I did not expect sleeping in the king's bed would be one of them."

"Gaius –" Merlin was lead out of the room before he could officially finish a sentence. He turned back to say one last thing to Gaius, yet the door had been shut, causing a frown to form on his face. He was now alone. So, he saw he could do nothing else but to shuffle through the castle and into Uther's chambers. Eventually he scuffled his way into the foreign room, changed into the appropriate night clothes, and crawled into bed. It was soft, alright. In fact the royal bed was so soft and comfortable that the moment Merlin shut his dreary eyes he drifted off into a deep sleep.

However, he did not get the peaceful night he was hoping for.

A nightmare haunted his dreams. Actually, it wasn't really a nightmare – it was more of an experience. There were colors, tons and tons of bright, vibrant colors that were probably so bright they would have blinded someone. And then there was the laughter. Maniacal laughter that sounded as if it was…mocking him. Why it was laughing, he was unsure, but he was sure of the face that had suddenly appeared. Right out of the sea of colors a somewhat young face materialized, grinning like a mad fool. Merlin suddenly awoke with a start, eyes darting around the room. Once he realized he was no longer being haunted by a myriad of colors, he began to relax. Could his life get any more confusing?

A knock on the door shocked him back into reality. A young, timid maid slowly entered the room, looking as white as a sheet. Wonder why. Merlin put on his best smile, beckoned the girl to set her tray of food down on the table. Wide-eyed with shock, she did as she was told, set the plate of warm food down, and braced herself for whatever rage Uther had in store for her. Nothing bad ever came. Instead she was rewarded with a pleasant thank you, and because Merlin felt pity for her, he gave her the day off. It took her a few moments to realized what had happened, but when it clicked in her mind, she thanked the king over and over again before rushing out of the room. Seeing the woman's face light up at the mention of 'day off' caused a smile to sweep across Merlin's face, filling him with a sort of pride. With a small feeling of accomplishment, he tried his attempt at picking out an appropriate outfit, changed into said outfit, then sat down in front of the glorious plate of food. Just one whiff of the various meats and bread made his mouth water with delight. He grabbed a fork, stabbed it into a large piece of sausage, and –

"Merlin, good, you are awake. Come, we have lots to do today," said Gaius, after having entered the room at the worst moment possible, "Hurry, we cannot delay."

Defeated, Merlin dropped his fork back down onto the plate and followed Gaius out the door, but not without snatching a piece of sausage on his way out.

———

The morning went better than Merlin could have expected. Not much went on. Planning with Gaius and Uther for most of the morning, and a few times he was supposed to talk with his military advisors, but luckily Arthur took care of them. It was indeed a slow morning.

And then came the audiences.

Every once in a while, King Uther took a few hours to meet with the people of Camelot. Whether it was a shortage of food, water, or a problem with bandits, he would help them all – sometimes. Unfortunately, today happened be that day.

Merlin anxiously sat upright in the throne, his grip tight on the arms of the overly large chair. He was nervous. Everything he had previously been told about being a king was gone, and it obviously showed. Never before had the king look so frightened of making ever important, life-changing decisions for the citizens.

"Remember…_sire,_" Merlin was jerked out of his thoughts by the whisper of his own voice. Looking up to his left he saw the current Merlin standing next to him, clearly having trouble addressing Merlin as a royal, "you have no problem sparing them men to protect their village, but at the moment you cannot afford to give them any provisions."

Merlin nodded his head in understanding. With a quick glance to Gaius, who in turn gave him an encouraging nod, he beckoned to the guards to let in the first person. A scrawny older man with salt-and-pepper hair and tattered clothes shuffled in, looking no older than the king himself.

"My lord," the man bowed deeply, "it is an honor to be in your presence. My name is Ular, and I hail from the village of Archet."

"Ah, um, yes, I have heard of Archet. Continue, Ular," Merlin lied, having absolutely no idea where Archet resided in Camelot.

Ular seemed to grin at the fact that the all mighty king heard of his small village, "Well, your majesty, out fair village of Archet has not been flourishing with crops as we had hoped. We are low on food, everyone is starving, and it will be at least a month before we are able to get back on our feet. We are afraid the children will die of hunger before then. Please, sire, I beg for your help."

Not only had Ular looked pitiful, but now he sounded pitiful, too. Merlin shot a glance towards Uther, who was already shaking his head no. The current king looked back to the pleading Ular, unsure of what to do. The peasant simply stared at him with wide eyes, clutching his rag-like hat in his hands in anticipation. After what felt like hours, Merlin finally spoke.

"I shall immediately send a month's worth of provisions to your village, as well as a few bags of seeds which should sustain your people for quite some time."

Gaius sighed, Uther stared at Merlin with shock and anger, and Ular bowed so low his nose almost touched the ground.

"Thank you sire, thank you! You have saved many, many lives! Long live King Uther!" Ular cheered as he was escorted out of the room, practically dancing with joy.

The instant the peasant left, Uther rounded on Merlin, "What was that?! Did I not specifically say we cannot afford to – "

"Silence! You will speak when spoken to," Merlin suddenly snapped, causing Gaius' eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

Uther was as equally surprised, but more furious than anything, "How dare you speak me in that manner – "

"Guards! Remove this _child_ from my sight," Merlin snarled as he waved his hand. Two guards appeared out of nowhere and seized the fuming servant. He was then dragged out of the room, his face a deep red crimson shade, "place him in a cell overnight; that should teach him some manners."

The doors slammed shut and the place went quiet once more. Merlin sat upright in the throne with a hard, intense stare, challenging anyone and everyone to try and speak to him. Thankfully, Gaius had taken the momentary silence to quickly usher everyone out of the room. He then turned to face the incensed king.

"Are you aware of what you just did?"

"Of course I am aware!" Merlin spat, "Why wouldn't I be aware that I had just – I had just…" his voice trailed off, the gears in his head starting to turn. It took him a moment to fit all the pieces together, "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

Merlin sank down into his chair, "Then I guess I should go and – ?"

"I believe that would be for the best."

Sighing, Merlin hoisted his old bones out of the chair and made for the door, wondering if there was any way his day could possibly get any worse.


End file.
